"[A] society reveals itself in its law and nowhere better than in the reports of the decisions of the state courts. The state reports are, however, the wasteland of American legal history. ... [The work of state court judges] is undeservedly unstudied. So long as that condition exists, there can be no history of American law, and without it, no adequate history of this nation's civilization."
During the late 19th
century, New England played a less central part in the evolution of American
civilization than it had in previous eras.New England continued to grow modestly but the nation’s attention
focused more on the rise of great urban centers in the mid-Atlantic states and
of the Midwest and on the final settlement of the frontier and the growth of
the youngPacific coast states.
New England, which had become solidly Republican in the period of crisis before the Civil War, remained a bastion of Republican power and culture during this era.Rural Yankees dominated its politics thanks in part to malapportionment
of state legislatures in favor of rural areas, a pattern that had carried over
from the colonial era.At the end of the
19th century, a new wave of immigration flowed into the region;
Irish, Italian, Portuguese and French-Canadian immigrants began the competition
for more economic and political power, a struggle that would continue well into
the 20th century.
The Republican culture had many benefits.New England continued to be
relatively progressive as to civil rights.Large businesses – mainly textile and mechanical manufacturers and
railroads – dominated the regional economy but did not always have their way in
the legislature and the courts.New
England states were some of the first to create railroad regulatory
commissions, and they began to enact reform measures to promote better
workplace conditions and public health well before the advent of the
Progressive era, when the reform movement became nationwide.
Vanderbilt Mansion, Newport, Rhode Island - courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Mark Twain House, Hartford, Connecticut - courtesy Kenneth Zirkel and Wikimedia Commons